ESPN hockey analyst Barry Melrose diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, retires from network
ESPN hockey commentator Barry Melrose retired from the network Tuesday amid announcing his diagnosis with Parkinson’s disease.
Melrose, 67, was the face of ESPN’s hockey coverage for years, sporting an instantly recognizable mullet and often donning memorable suits.
“I’ve had over 50 extraordinary years playing, coaching and analyzing the world’s greatest game, hockey,” Melrose said in a statement. “It’s now time to hang up my skates and focus on my health, my family, including my supportive wife Cindy, and whatever comes next.”
Melrose played six seasons in the NHL from 1979-86 and spent four memorable years as a coach, including a trip to the Stanley Cup Final with Wayne Gretzky and the 1992-93 Los Angeles Kings.
But the Saskatchewan native is hardly known for his years as a hard-nosed defenseman with the Winnipeg Jets, Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings. Hockey fans instead knew him for sharing his love of the game on ESPN.
“He’s bigger than any team. For decades, he’s been suiting up — and I mean suiting up — for the game, for the sport, for hockey,” Gretzky said in a video tribute for ESPN. “You see, hockey is more than a game, it’s a community — a finely tuned orchestra — and Barry was our conductor.”
Melrose first joined ESPN in 1994, during the network’s original run airing NHL games, including the Stanley Cup playoffs. When ESPN moved away from hockey, Melrose remained as the most consistent and prominent NHL commentator at the “worldwide leader in sports.”
Longtime ESPN colleague John Buccigross broke the news of Melrose’s Parkinson’s diagnosis.
“I’ve worked with Barry at ESPN for over a quarter century,” Buccigross tweeted. “Cold beers and hearty laughs in smoky cigar bars. A razor sharp wit, he was always early and looked like a million bucks. I love him. I’ll miss him.”
